Research Update

Women who experience hypertension during pregnancy face an increased risk of heart disease and hypertension later in life, according to a new study. "The study highlights the need for long-term follow-up of women with a history of hypertension during pregnancy to provide early management of risk factors for cardiovascular disease".

Can an Aspirin a day keep a pregnancy complication away?

Something as simple as taking a low-dose aspirin every day may protect pregnant women from the life-threatening condition known as preeclampsia, new research suggests. "Preeclampsia is one of the most serious complications of pregnancy, with a high risk of death for the mother and baby," said the study. The new study looked at an aspirin dose of 150 milligrams (mg) per day because some past studies with smaller daily doses of aspirin have produced conflicting results, according to the study. A baby aspirin dose is 81 milligrams. In those studies using smaller doses, the reduction in preeclampsia risk hovered around 10 percent, he said, but the higher dose in this latest study was linked to a 62 percent reduction in risk. Preeclampsia is a serious high blood pressure disorder. It can affect all of the organs in a woman's body, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).

Painkiller prescriptions more prone to errors if handwritten

Mistakes are much more likely to occur with handwritten prescriptions for opioid painkillers than with electronic ones, a new study finds. Researchers analyzed prescriptions for opioids – such as oxycodone (Oxycontin, Percocet) and hydrocodone (Vicoprofen). The investigators found that 42 percent of the prescriptions contained an error.

Blood Pressure Fluctuations tied to Dementia risk

If your blood pressure varies from day-to-day, you may be at higher risk for dementia or Alzheimer's disease, new research from Japan suggests. People whose systolic blood pressure (the top reading) fluctuated from day-to-day were more than twice as likely to develop any type of dementia or Alzheimer's disease compared to those with more stable day-to-day blood pressure, the researchers found. And the study – which was based on home-monitorings -- also reported that the participants were nearly three times more likely to develop vascular dementia, caused by hardening of the arteries.

Kidney Disease may boost risk of abnormal Heartbeat

People with failing kidneys are at increased risk of developing a life-threatening abnormal heart rhythm, a new report suggests. Chronic kidney disease can as much as double a patient's risk of atrial fibrillation, a quivering or irregular heartbeat that can lead to stroke or heart failure, said a study. The risk of atrial fibrillation increases as kidney function declines, said researcher. A poorly functioning kidney can alter blood levels of a number of nutrients needed to maintain proper heart function, such as potassium, vitamin D, calcium and phosphorus, said the study. The kidneys also are responsible for maintaining a steady volume of blood in your body, removing excess fluid by way of urination.

Doctor-Patient dialogue may boost use of blood pressure drugs

Doctors can help boost use of high blood pressure medications by their poor patients simply by talking to them, a new study suggests. Many people fail to take their blood pressure-lowering drugs, putting them at higher risk of heart attack and stroke, the American Heart Association says. But by communicating more effectively and talking to patients about their specific challenges, physicians may improve medication use, researchers found. If important issues go undiscussed, doctors may never figure out why patients are not taking their medications.

New 'Biologic' drug may help severe Asthma

A "biologic" drug in development to treat severe asthma reduces the rate of serious attacks by about two-thirds compared to a placebo drug, according to preliminary research findings. If approved, the drug, tezepelumab, could join a group of costly medications that appear to offer relief when nothing else curbs respiratory distress. The new research was funded by the drug's developers, Amgen and MedImmune, a subsidiary of AstraZeneca. Asthma is a chronic lung disease. Study said an estimated 15 percent of asthma patients can't control the disease with current inhaled medications. Tezepelumab, an injectable drug, is a monoclonal antibody – a term that refers to how it's made.

Could folic acid fight a cause of Autism

By taking folic acid around the time of conception, mothers-to-be may reduce their child's risk of pesticide-related autism, a new study suggests. "We found that if the mom was taking folic acid during the window around conception, the risk associated with pesticides seemed to be attenuated," said study author. Autism risk was higher among children whose mothers were repeatedly exposed to pesticides or whose mothers had low folic acid intake and exposure to agricultural pesticides between three months preconception and three months afterward, the findings showed. Those two factors combined were associated with higher risk of autism than either low folic acid intake or pesticide exposure alone.

Statins may help people with COPD live longer

Drugs known as statins may have benefits beyond lowering "bad" LDL cholesterol levels. A new study suggests people with chronic lung disease who take these drugs may extend their survival. The study included nearly 40,000 people with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). One in five patients was taking a statin, and those individuals had a 21 percent lower risk of dying from any cause, and a 45 percent reduced risk of dying from lung-related issues, the researchers found. This study comes on the heels of a separate large-scale investigation that found no link between statin use and the number of COPD exacerbations people experienced.

High blood pressure: Sodium may not be the culprit

Salt has long been vilified as the harbinger of hypertension. However, as research into the condition has delved deeper, it is becoming clear that the story is more complex. The latest study in this arena goes some way toward absolving sodium. Following a raft of large-scale studies showing that a high salt intake leads to high blood pressure, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans set the recommended sodium intake at 2,300 milligrams per day. However, a new batch of studies are bringing this guideline into question, and researchers are now asking whether the relationship between hypertension and salt is so clear cut.

Certain high blood pressure drugs block cancer invasion

Researchers have identified a new way of blocking the spread of cancer. Calcium channel blockers, which are used to lower blood pressure, block breast and pancreatic cancer invasion by inhibiting cellular structures.By screening already approved drugs, the team in University of Turku has discovered that calcium channel blockers can efficiently stop cancer cell invasion in vitro. Cancer kills because of its ability to spread throughout the body and form metastases. Therefore, developing drugs that block the ability of cancer cells to disseminate is a major anti-cancer therapeutic avenue. Identification of anti-hypertension drugs as potential therapeutics against breast and pancreatic cancer metastasis was a big surprise. The targets of these drugs were not know to be present in cancer cells and therefore no one had considered the possibility that these drugs might be effective against aggressive cancer types.

Reducing our cholesterol levels to those of a new-born baby significantly lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease, according to new research. The scientists found that dropping cholesterol to the lowest level possible,to levels similar to those we were born with, reduced the risk of heart attack, stroke or fatal heart disease by around one third.In the paper, the scientists examined levels of low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. This is considered to be 'bad' cholesterol, as it is responsible for clogging arteries.LDL carries cholesterol to cells, but when there is too much cholesterol for cells to use, LDL deposits the cholesterol in the artery walls.Official advice suggests most people should aim to keep their LDL cholesterol at 100 mg/dL or below, though this number can vary depending on a person's risk of cardiovascular disease.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the most common gastrointestinal disorder. People with IBS often connect their symptoms to certain foods, particularly fermentable carbohydrates. Now an international research team led by scientists from KarolinskaInstitutet in Sweden have identified defective sucrase-isomaltase gene variants that increase the risk of IBS. The researchers studied DNA variants in the gene encoding the enzyme sucrase-isomaltase (SI), due to the observation that SI mutations are often found in hereditary forms of sucrose intolerance, whose main characteristics diarrhea, abdominal pain and bloating are also common in IBS. “Significant decrease in the enzymatic activity of sucrase-isomaltase would be compatible with poor carbohydrate digestion in the intestine, possibly leading to malabsorption and bowel symptoms" says co-senior author. The results provide rationale for novel nutrigenetic studies in IBS, with potential for personalizing treatment options based on SI genotype.

Novel HCV Drug Combo Shines in CKD Patients

An investigational combination of antiviral agents was almost universally successful in curing hepatitis C (HCV) patients with severe kidney disease, according to a new study. The combination, glecaprevir/pibrentasvir cleared HCV in 98% of patients after 12 weeks of treatment. Patients all had stage 4 or 5 kidney disease and 82% were on dialysis, a population of people at high risk for HCV and regarded as difficult to treat. Also, current recommended therapies for people with HCV and chronic kidney disease are only aimed at a few of the HCV genotypes. So there is an "unmet medical need" that is satisfied by the new combination. The drug is co-formulated so that both medications are in a single pill; patients take three of them together once a day. The most common adverse events were pruritus, fatigue, and, nausea. Grade 3 or higher lab abnormalities were rare. The study, known as EXPEDITION-4, is one of several in drugmakerAbbVie's series of trials leading up to marketing applications.

Modified virus could turn immune system on liver cancer

A modified form of Reoviruscould be used to launch an immune attack on liver cancer cells, a new study has revealed.The studyalso found that the virus can stop the hepatitis C virus, which is a cause of liver cancer, from growing.The researchers suggest that the virus’ double blow may be a more effective treatment than what is currently available for liver cancer.The team also found that the modified virus works as a type of immunotherapy, kick–starting the immune system into action against the cancer. This causes the release of an immune molecule called interferon, which activates natural killer cell. The natural killer cells then recognise and destroy the tumour cells, while interferon blocks hepatitis C virus growth. Studying mice with liver cancer, treatment with the modified Reovirus caused the tumour cells to die. And those that had liver cancer caused by the hepatitis C virus, the viral treatment stopped the harmful virus from reproducing.

Breath test could diagnose irritable bowel syndrome

Researchers have identified a combination of 16 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the breath that, when measured together, can accurately identify patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).The authors express that this study can be considered an important first step forward in the design and development of reliable non-invasive biomarkers for IBS. The investigators reasoned that because exhaled human breath contains hundreds of VOCs, metabolic differences may indicate certain states of disease, in this case, IBS.After analyzing the collected breath samples with gas chromatography, the researchers found a pattern of 16 VOCs that indicated IBS, with a sensitivity of 89.4% and specificity of 73.3%.The researchers also found that the VOCs moderately correlated with severity of GI symptoms—the worse the results of the breath test, the worse the patient’s symptoms. This finding could not only help identify disease severity, but could also be used to monitor the effects of treatment, the researchers predicted.

Groundbreaking research finds fungus plays a central role in Crohn's disease

Researchers reported for the first time that the fungus Candida tropicalis appears to play a critical role— along with elevated levels of Serratiamarcescens and Escherichia coli bacteria in the intestinal tracts of patients with Crohn’s disease, which suggested that these organisms interact. This is the first study to find that a fungus is associated with Crohn’s disease in humans and also the first to include S. marcescens in theanalysis of the intestinal bacteriome of Crohn’s patients.The researchers also discovered that E. coli cells fused to C. tropicalis cells, while S. marcescens used bridge-like fimbriae to link to the two other microbes. “Interestingly, in biofilms formed by the three organisms, S. marcescens cells interacted with both C. tropicalis and E. coli through these fimbriae,” the authors wrote. “Specific interkingdom microbial interactions may be key determinants in Crohn’s disease.”

Benefits of daily aspirin outweigh risk to stomach

Stomach bleeds caused by aspirin are considerably less serious than the spontaneous bleeds that can occur in people not taking the drug, concludes a study led by Cardiff University. The extensive study of literature on aspirin reveals that while regular use of the drug increases the risk of stomach bleeds by about a half, there is no valid evidence that any of these bleeds are fatal. Heart disease and cancer are the leading causes of death and disability across the world, and research has shown that a small daily dose of aspirin can reduce the occurrence of both diseases by around 20-30%. Recent research has also shown that low-doses of aspirin given to patients with cancer, alongside chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy, is an effective additional treatment, reducing the deaths of patients with bowel, and possibly other cancers, by a further 15%.

Sleep loss tied to changes in Gut Bacteria

Getting too little sleep alters the balance of bacteria in the gut, a change that's linked to certain metabolic conditions, including obesity and type 2 diabetes, new research shows. For the study, European researchers limited the sleep of nine healthy men who were a normal weight to examine how sleep loss affects the number of types of bacteria in the gut. For two days in a row, the men slept only four hours a night. The study showed the diversity of gut bacteria didn't change but sleep loss did alter the balance of the existing groups of bacteria. The sleep-deprived participants were also 20 percent less sensitive to the effects of insulin. These changes parallel some of the differences seen when obese people have been compared with normal-weight people in other studies, said the senior study author. The study authors said more research is needed to assess sensitivity to the effects of sleep loss and how it affects brain function and metabolic health